Kaylee Hottle — a deaf actress best known for playing Jia in the Godzilla franchise — has passed away in a car accident.
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The US Sun that the teenager had been the passenger in a vehicle that swerved off the road at around 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday in Ijamsville, Maryland. Police said in a statement:
“A 1995 Honda Accord, operated by a 19-year-old Frederick man traveled off the right side of the two-lane roadway and struck a culvert. Excessive speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the collision.”
Sadly, Kaylee didn’t make it. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland said she was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning. She was so young, only 18 years old. Heartbreaking.
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Kaylee is the only fatality in the crash. Law enforcement said the driver was taken to the hospital with seemingly non-life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, TMZ reported another passenger in the vehicle declined treatment at the scene. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says the crash remains under investigation at this time.
Kaylee’s father, Joshua Hottle, also shared the devastating news during a Facebook live stream at the airport. Using American Sign Language, the dad broke down in tears, explaining he found out his daughter had been badly injured in a car accident. However, officials called him again shortly after to reveal Kaylee’s heart stopped while she was being rushed to the hospital. Joshua is now living a parent’s worst nightmare, and he is traveling to Maryland to claim her body. He wrote in the caption:
“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take.”
It’s awful what this parent is going through right now. Our hearts break for him. You can watch the emotional video HERE.
For those who don’t know, Kaylee began her acting career as a child in commercials, including a PSA for the video messaging app Glide, which members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community use, at only 9 years old. In 2021, she starred as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong. Kaylee reprised the role three years later for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Additionally, she appeared in four episodes of the reboot series Magnum P.I.
We send our condolences to her family during this difficult time. May Kaylee rest in peace…
[Image via MEGA/WENN, Joshua Hottle/Facebook, Warner Bros. Entertainment/YouTube]